"My son is the one closest to the shark," the woman, June Emerson, told NBC4 Southern California via email. "Whatever it is, it was quite a shock to see while reviewing shots of the day on our way home."

Surfers and lifeguards told Emerson it was definitely a shark, but she decided to tell her 12-year-old son, Quinn, and his friend that it was a dolphin so as not to scare them out of SoCal waters permanently.